Featured: St Helens, OR – Columbia Theater

Columbia Theater in St. Helens invests heavily in technology to attract sensation-loving patrons

BY DARRYL SWAN

The South County Spotlight, May 5, 2010 (1 Reader comment)

In time, a superior cinematic spatial technology will likely come along and supplant RealD as king of the in-your-face theater world, but for now RealD is the real deal in special effects movie magic.

And that’s exactly what Columbia Theater owner Jim Svoboda, 77, is banking on following his recent $500,000 investment in RealD and hi-definition technology for the historic St. Helens theater.

“I’m hoping this will put me back in the black,” says Svoboda.

There’s no reason to think the RealD experience Columbia Theater is offering would be one local movie-goers would casually skip over. There are 22 3D releases lined up to hit movie theater marquees in 2010, many – “Shrek,” “Toy Story,” “Harry Potter” – carrying franchise film titles wildly popular in the 2D world.

Now take that pre-existing popularity and mix in a heaping load of eye-popping 3D effects. A recipe for success? Svoboda believes it is.